Secondary depth has been incredible; good to have three older experienced DBs

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swingman

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Despite losing Hardin, Buford, Dior, Winfield, Shenault, Kiondre, Craighton, Durr, getting Beck in late to camp, keeping redshirt on him and Estes, and suspending McGhee, Gophers have a top 25 pass defense!

Helps having two fifth year seniors and a junior anchoring the secondary right now.

Looking forward to next year when we return 9 of our top eleven dbs with more age and experience plus add in the veteran Florida transfer Williamson and great talents like Sapp, Henderson, Smith and Smith.
 

Brilliant coaching by Linguist, right? I assume that’s the point you are trying to make. Held together the secondary despite numerous injuries.
 

Kunle Ayinde's versatility and play has been a nice plus.
 

True, these guys have done well considering they lost 4 of their top 5 players in the defensive backfield. Harris will get better as the season progresses, but I fear this game against Michigan could get rough if the offense struggles like it has.
 

swingman said:
Despite losing Hardin, Buford, Dior, Winfield, Shenault, Kiondre, Craighton, Durr, getting Beck in late to camp, keeping redshirt on him and Estes, and suspending McGhee, Gophers have a top 25 pass defense!

Helps having two fifth year seniors and a junior anchoring the secondary right now.

<b>Looking forward to next year when we return 9 of our top eleven dbs with more age and experience plus add in the veteran Florida transfer Williamson and great talents like Sapp, Henderson, Smith and Smith.</b>
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Great points Swing. I didn't realize we would be so experienced next year.


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swingman said:
Despite losing Hardin, Buford, Dior, Winfield, Shenault, Kiondre, Craighton, Durr, getting Beck in late to camp, keeping redshirt on him and Estes, and suspending McGhee, Gophers have a top 25 pass defense!

Helps having two fifth year seniors and a junior anchoring the secondary right now.

Looking forward to next year when we return 9 of our top eleven dbs with more age and experience plus add in the veteran Florida transfer Williamson and great talents like Sapp, Henderson, Smith and Smith.
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How many games did Sapp play in four years of high school? The rest I'm intrigued.
 

Great job by the coaching staff to get this group playing well through all the injuries and inexperience.


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The secondary should be loaded next year. And LB too with 3 juniors.
 

John Galt said:
The secondary should be loaded next year. And LB too with 3 juniors.
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Looking forward to it! With the great DE's coming in, will Coughlan go back to linebacker?

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scools12 said:
Great job by the coaching staff to get this group playing well through all the injuries and inexperience.


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Agreed. I've been pleasantly surprised by their improvement the past few weeks. Ayinde as our #1 CB?!?! Wow. What a nightmare scenario at the start of the season. He's improved so much this season.
 

Maverick said:
Looking forward to it! With the great DE's coming in, will Coughlan go back to linebacker?

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Hopefully. Fleck recently called Esezi O. an athletic freak. Best situation is for Umlor, Esezi and Winston to compete at DE and to move Coughlin to LB IMO.
 

With all of this DB depth we've had this year, no wonder winning that Bowl Game against WSU last year was doable.
 





John Galt said:
Hopefully. Fleck recently called Esezi O. an athletic freak. Best situation is for Umlor, Esezi and Winston to compete at DE and to move Coughlin to LB IMO.
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So, a few weeks ago the talk was around how decimated and young the team was on D. Now, next year we will be loaded?

:clap:
 

John Galt said:
Hopefully. Fleck recently called Esezi O. an athletic freak. Best situation is for Umlor, Esezi and Winston to compete at DE and to move Coughlin to LB IMO.
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JG - I used to be 100% on board with this, but Carter has been looking really good on passing downs. Even when he is not getting to the QB, he is really making him move around in the pocket. I didn't like the idea of Carter being a DE going into the season, but I think I'm board with him staying there going forward, at least on passing downs. He is about the same size as TJ Watt. I hope, for as long as Couglin is at the U, he is rushing the QB on third downs.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
JG - I used to be 100% on board with this, but Carter has been looking really good on passing downs. Even when he is not getting to the QB, he is really making him move around in the pocket. I didn't like the idea of Carter being a DE going into the season, but I think I'm board with him staying there going forward, at least on passing downs. He is about the same size as TJ Watt. I hope, for as long as Couglin is at the U, he is rushing the QB on third downs.
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Agree 100% with CC rushing off the edge on 3rd down. I just don't want to see him there on 1st and 10.
 

BarnBurner said:
So, a few weeks ago the talk was around how decimated and young the team was on D. Now, next year we will be loaded?

:clap:
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Why is that surprising? Every season is unique. Our secondary was decimated by injuries this year. Who could have anticipated that Winfield, Shenault, Thomas, Craighton, and Durr all would be out. If they get healthy, and with the addition of Williamson and the true freshman, we are positioned very well for next year. Not everyone is trying to "lower expectations." Many are discussing the roster as they see it.
 

I'm not worried. PJ will have us ready next year no matter what the haters and trolls say.


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Bob_Loblaw said:
JG - I used to be 100% on board with this, but Carter has been looking really good on passing downs. Even when he is not getting to the QB, he is really making him move around in the pocket. I didn't like the idea of Carter being a DE going into the season, but I think I'm board with him staying there going forward, at least on passing downs. He is about the same size as TJ Watt. I hope, for as long as Couglin is at the U, he is rushing the QB on third downs.
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His listed weight is about the same as TJ Watt, but his actual weight is much lower. I can't find the article, but there was a recent quote from him about how difficult it has been to put on and maintain weight, and that he's playing at about 220-225 as I recall. He is simply not big enough to play DE in the Big Ten, and his frame is such that he never will be. He needs to be playing OLB, and he can certainly continue to rush the passer as needed from that position.
 

dpodoll68 said:
His listed weight is about the same as TJ Watt, but his actual weight is much lower. I can't find the article, but there was a recent quote from him about how difficult it has been to put on and maintain weight, and that he's playing at about 220-225 as I recall. He is simply not big enough to play DE in the Big Ten, and his frame is such that he never will be. He needs to be playing OLB, and he can certainly continue to rush the passer as needed from that position.
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Yes I hope things work out to enable him to get back to his natural position. That alone should help him be more effective.

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Gopherhole poster during PENN STATE IN-GAME THREAD -- SEPTEMBER 2016 said:
With how well Winfield JR has been playing, Ayinde SHOULD NEVER SEE THE FIELD.


HE CAN'T COVER

HE CAN'T TACKLE

HE CAN'T GET OFF A BLOCK

bench him.
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I agree with most of what has been said in this thread, and on that note I would like to take a moment to recognize and appreciate the improved and very impressive performances by former walk-on Kunle Ayinde. I pulled the post above from the Penn State game thread and the sentiment above was shared by most fans that day.

While fair at the time given the performance on the field, Kunle has continued to grind and improve game by game, year by year. Further, he has transitioned from Safety to CB incredibly well the past 4-5 games, making key plays at key times seemingly every game.

Cheers to you, Kunle. Thanks for making me go from one of your biggest critics to one of your biggest fans. Keep it up.
 

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